Murray from Flight of the Conchords is Coming to Netflix: Here's Why That's Great News

Netflix announced yesterday that they have acquired the exclusive rights to Short Poppies, a comedy series created by and starring Rhys Darby, the man best known as Murray from Flight of the Conchords. The show, a mockumentary which will consist of 8 episodes and will debut on April 3, follows a journalist in a small New Zealand town, and the collection of oddball characters who live there. Darby will not only play the lead role, he will also play all of the townsfolk as well.

If you are familiar with Darby’s work, then surely you’re psyched. And if you have no idea who this Kiwi actor is, well, then here’s your chance to get caught up. Trust us, your life will be better for it.

As Murray Hewitt, the New Zealand consulate pencil pusher turned hapless band manager on Flight of the Conchords, Darby was unquestionably the best part of the show. His combination of pitch perfect timing and hilariously awkward cluelessness is a thing to behold:

After the run of the show, Darby played a character similar to Murray for a successful string of commercials for HP. He kicked off his duties as HP spokesperson with perhaps the greatest internal corporate launch video ever created:

And then he went on to make HP’s Let’s Do Amazing ad campaign, where he confounded the likes of Dr. Dre, Annie Leibovitz, and some Dreamworks ecs.

It’s one of the zaniest ads since the Old Spice man got on a horse. So awesomely crazy, in fact, that even Nike eventually got in on the Rhys Darby action, casting him as a creepy adversary to tennis great Roger Federer in this commercial:

Of course, Darby can do more than just play iterations of Murray. He actually began his career as a stand up comic in his home country of New Zealand, where he often played multiple characters and was especially adept at recreating sound effects (yes, we know how that sounds, but trust us, he makes it work).